- Pop-punk rock band formed in 1984 from Garden Grove California. Their lineup during their run from the late 80s to early 00s was Dexter Holland (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Noodles (born Kevin Wasserman – lead guitar, backing vocals), Greg K. (born Gregory Kriesel – bass guitar, backing vocals) and Ron Welty (drums). All members contributed to songwriting, with Holland the primary writer.
- Holland and Greg K were track teammates in high school. They started playing music together in a garage in the early 80s with a preference toward punk rock. In 1984, they formed a band with two other artists, calling themselves Manic Subsidal. Several members came and went – drummer James Lilja joined later in 1984, and second guitarist Noodles was added the following year, because he was older and could buy liquor for the other members.
- In 1986, they changed the name of the band to The Offspring, inspired by a film titled The Offspring: They Were Born to Kill. They created their own record label and they released a hardcore punk single called I’ll Be Waiting. Lilja left the band to go to medical school, replaced by 16 year old Welty, and over the next several years, they recorded demo tapes, hoping to get a record deal. By 1989, they signed with a independent label. Their debut album, the self-titled The Offspring, was given a limited release later that year. Still an underground band, the album included punk rock songs with titles like Beheaded and Kill the President. A concert tour followed the release of the album – Noodles was stabbed by a zealous concert-goer at one of the performances.
- In 1991, The Offspring recorded another demo as well as an EP titled Baghdad. Their work got the interest of a independent record label, and they were signed to another contract. Their second studio album, Ignition, failed to chart when it was released in 1992.
- Their breakthrough album, Smash, was released in 1994. By this time, the band had evolved to more of a pop-punk sound, and this album became the best selling independent album of all time, selling over 11 million copies worldwide, certified 6x platinum and peaking at #4 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Three singles from the album reached the top 10 of the Alternative Airplay chart – Self Esteem, Gotta Get Away and Come Out and Play (which topped the chart).
- Between 1997 and 2000, the group released three more albums. All were certified platinum, with 1998’s Americana album certified 5x platinum. Six more singles were top 10 hits on the Alternative chart, including Gone Away, Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), Why Don’t You Get a Job?, The Kids Aren’t Alright, and Original Prankster. They became international stars – Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) was a #1 single in 11 countries.
- Welty left the band in 2003, replaced by drummer Atom Willard for four years, who was then replaced by Pete Parada. The group released three albums between 2003 and 2012. They continued to have alternative hits, with Hit That and You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid both reaching #1 and Hammerhead peaking at #2 on the Alternative chart. Bassist Greg K was fired from the group in 2018, leading to a lawsuit and a counter lawsuit by the band. Their first album without Greg K will be released in April 2021, titled Let the Bad Times Roll.
- In addition to his frontman rock star duties, Holland earned a PhD degree in molecular biology from USC in 2017. He also owns his own brand of hot sauce, named Gringo Bandito. No wonder the band didn’t release an album for nine years! Here’s their classic pop-punk hit Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) – uno dos tres cuatro cinco cinco seis!